Downloading ringtones to mobile telephones has quickly become a billion-dollar industry. Many mobile telephone users search and download their favorite ringtones or ringback tones (music heard by the waiting caller prior to the callee answering) to their mobile phones.
To find a desired ringtone (or ringback tone), users generally enter some text information, such as the artist or title, to search for the desired ringtone through a web service or WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) service. However, it is usually inconvenient to input text on small devices. Further, many users often do not know or cannot recall the exact titles and/or artists of songs for which they seek ringtones, although each user will typically remember its general melody and beat. Such users and the ringtone industry would benefit by an alternative model for finding desired ringtones.